Newmont Australia Limited and the Telfer gold/ copper mine - Discovery and Ownership

 

Jean-Paul Turcaud
Discoverer of Telfer
(Image courtesy of The Golden Rule, Sheppard, 2002. Warrigal Press)

This site supports Jean-Paul Turcaud's claim as the discoverer of the mineralised samples and gossans that led to the acquisition and development of the prospect that came to be known as Newmont Australia's Telfer Gold/ Copper Mine.

Newmont Australia Limited and subsequent operator  Newcrest have refused throughout to officially acknowledge Jean-Paul Turcaud's role in the discovery of this giant gold mine, even to the extent of publishing an account that refutes Mr Turcaud's priority  (Tyrrwhit, 1995).   Not only has Mr Turcaud gained virtually nothing from his discovery, but as a consequence of pursuing his claim has also over the years suffered denial, vilification and scorn to an extent that has been to the substantial detriment of his health and to the natural sufferance of relationships of those closest to him.

So focussed have been his detractors on the question of ownership that they overlook the simple fact of discovery to which Mr Turcaud lays claim.   "Do as you would be done by", recognised everywhere as the basis of Common Law,  is simply disregarded by his detractors who deliberately obscure the relationship between ownership and discovery, and indulge themselves in self-congratulatory 'blaming the victim'.

The nexus between discovery and ownership is as biblical in its ethical and moral dictates as it is in its historical roots.  "Finders Keepers" has resonance the world over.  Priority of discovery survives however ownership may change.  Whether change occurs by force, trickery, manipulation, coercion, ...or even by negotiated agreement, priority stands as an incontrovertible fact against which any claim of subsequent ownership may be judged.

This story of discovery of the Telfer Gold Mine and the situation that led to the subsequent assumption of ownership by Newmont deserves to be told not only for its immediate relevance to the main players, but for the role played by prospectors in the discovery of ore deposits in general.   According to R. Sheppard,  President of the Australian Prospectors and Leaseholders Association of Western Australia, "Prospectors are responsible for the discovery of 80% of the known gold deposits in this country, ...  yet they are ignored and discouraged by governments."   Amongst them Jean-Paul Turcaud stands as an exemplar.  For here we have a man who epitomised the fearless initiative, drive and spirit of the hopeful immigrant, who was initially welcomed into the arms of his adoptive country, who penetrated the Australian wilderness at its most forbidding,  and who discovered the location of fabulous mineral wealth in the tradition of those prospectors on whose efforts the economy of the state was based.  His achievement should have been lauded, or at the very least met with some semblance of the fair play for which Australia considers itself proud.  Instead, when put to the test, those in a position to demonstrate this qualilty failed miserably.   Mr Turcaud's achievement has been, and continues to be, denigrated and denied by those bent on eradication, even to the point of insisting that Telfer was found without his contribution.  And even, ...incredibly, ...doubting the fact of his exploratory effort.

In the perspective of hindsight it seems incredible that others should attempt to deal with Mr Turcaud's achievements in this way.  One could even be forgiven for believing, as Mr Turcaud insists, that a swindle and cover-up of massive proportions has not only occurred, but is perpetuated by a conspiracy of silence.  An alternative view of course is that there is no consciously organised directorate, and that 'conspiracy'  is simply the way that self-organisation of self-interest works.  All are culpable in their different ways.  However, such is the instinct for self-preservation and abrogation of responsibility amongst those of standing in a dispute that those liable will do nothing if there is the slightest risk of incurring injury to self-interest.  A human enough trait, certainly, ...but a questionable one,  one that renders impotent the societal value of shame and one that does nothing to mitigate wrong where wrong has been perpetrated..

In more than thirty years Jean-Paul Turcaud has never wavered in his claim as the discoverer who brought the prospect  to the attention of the mining community, and as the instigator who opened up that entire inhospitable region on the fringe of the Great Sandy Desert to exloration and development.  His intensive canvassing at the time to encourage development of the prospect initially fell on barren ground but set in train a convoluted series of events that led those earlier involved to usurp his claim of priority and deny his entitlement as discoverer.  Unquestionably a blot would remain against the history of Western Australia were this denial to survive.

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